Nation of Islam in Louisville

Nation of Islam, formed in 1930, combine teachings of Islam with the ideas of Black nationalism. Is thrived in major US cities and by the time the decade was over, its teachings had spread across the Northeast and the Midwest.

However, Black in the segregated South could not afford to challenge the status quo. Notions of Black pride conflicted with White supremacy idea that governed the South so NOI didn’t take hold in the South.

Civil Rights Movement began in the 1950s predominantly in the South. By mid 1950s, Malcom X was head of the NOIs temples in Harlem, Boston, and Philadelphia. In the early 1960s, he befriended Cassius Clay, the most popular athlete that grabbed headlines resident of Louisville, KY. After Cassius became Muhammad Ali and joined the NOI, Malcom X influence could clearly be seen within the NOI and the Black community.

Not many documentations about NOI in Louisville, aside from Muhammad Ali’s involvement nationally. “NOI in Louisville” will take the question to the community of NOI in Louisville today investigating the history of its birth and its involvement with Civil Rights Movement.

The film will take expository mode including interviews, photographs, footage, perhaps a narration to connect testimonies from different interviewees.